Survey Sees No Big Lift in IT Spending

Two months into the first quarter of 2003, there's still no sign of a substantial rebound in IT spending. The latest indication: a survey by market researcher Forrester forecasting spending growth of 1.9% this year, not even enough to keep up with inflation as measured by either the producer or consumer price index.

This year's forecast compares with growth of 2.3% in 2002, a terrible year for technology companies.

The survey of 877 IT "decision-makers" found that just 35% of the companies surveyed will spend more on hardware, software and services in 2003, and only 26% are planning to increase spending on desktop PCs or workstations. ...